Microchips and Mergers

In the corporate world, Latin America's traditional family-controlled companies may dominate today, but they will be the dinosaurs of tomorrow.

Beyond Telenovelas: Mexico's
Televisa may be one of the few family-owned companies in
tomorrow's Latin America.

Mexican company Neology produces high-tech radio-frequency
chips to track people and vehicles. Its chips are buried in
Delta Air Lines luggage tags, embedded in Saudi Arabian
passports and attached to government cars in Mali. Four years
ago, Neology CEO Francisco Martínez launched his company
and happily brought in annual revenues of $300,000. This year,
the 40-year-old entrepreneur is overseeing a firm with offices
in two countries, 180 employees and sales expected to near the
$15 million mark.

"If you look back, there was a time when large corporations
thought they could do everything. But that's not possible
anymore, especially when it comes to technology. Markets are
getting more specialized. As the big companies shrink and go
back to their core business, they're leaving opportunities for
us," says Martínez.